It was during this period that the church reached its highest membership in its history. By the year 1959, our church roll numbered 241 members of which 24 were residents of the Oxford Orphanage. In 1948, World War II was but a memory and families were grateful to have loved ones home from the war in the safety of their own homes. The church began to look ahead and prospered as it had never before in its history.
Five ministers served Oxford Presbyterian Church during this time: The Reverends Benjamin Franklin Moore, 1944 - 1949; Norris London Fellows, 1949 - 1951; Marlin Beamer Curry, 1952 - 1953; Dr. James Ligon Price, Jr., 1953 - 1954 (temporary supply); and Thomas Tinsley Traynham, 1954 - 1969.
In 1948, Mr. Dennis A. Hall. Jr., Elder Emeritus, was voted in as Moderator of Granville Presbytery. His picture was featured in the PRESBYTERIAN SURVEY in 1948 in an article, “Can the Church Produce Leaders? Laymen Provide A Decisive Answer.” Mr. Hall worked for the Soil Conservation Department, United States Government.
In November of the same year, a congregational meeting was called about buying a new organ (second one). It was turned over to the Deacons to proceed. On March 22, 1949, a pipe design (Molar Organ) was installed.
In 1949, the Reverend Benjamin Franklin Moore accepted a call to a Presbyterian church in Albemarle, North Carolina. Those who remember him praise him as a quiet and scholarly person during his ministry here in Oxford.
Several months later, the Reverend Norris London Fellows of Springfield, Missouri, was called and received into Granville Presbytery. During his tenure here, he met and married Miss Betty Jeanne McInnis of Henderson, NC. She was the daughter of the Reverend and Mrs. W.D. McInnis, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Henderson. Mr. Dennis H. Hall, Jr., elder of our church, was his best man in the wedding. Mr. Fellows’ father died soon after he came to Oxford.
In November of 1949, the morning worship was held at the Woman’s Club due to the fact that new carpet was being laid in our church. Also at this time, permission was given to begin a full-time weekday Nursery and Kindergarten, under the direction of Miss Minor Boring.
In 1950, Homecoming was celebrated for the first time by our church. The church hosted Presbyterial as well. Early in the Spring, the Reverend Fellows began to conduct services twice a month at Goshen Chapel in Northern Granville and elders attended from time to time. The Sunday School gave $25.00 toward the purchase of hymnals for the chapel and Geneva Presbyterian Church gave a piano.
The Christmas Pageant, “The Prince of Peace” was given and was a spiritual blessing to the church for the high spiritual quality of its members, which was demonstrated in all phases of the preparations and presentation of the Christmas Worship Service in pageantry. This pageant was written by Mrs. Edith Wheeler. She wrote several pageants through the years.
In April, 1951, the Reverend Fellows accepted a call to his home church in Springfield, Missouri, as assistant minister of First and Calvary Presbyterian Churches. In June, the church celebrated its second Homecoming with the beloved former pastor, the Reverend Stuart Oglesby, then pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, returning to preach the sermon. Flowers were placed in the sanctuary that day in memory of the Reverends John E. Wool, Farrior and J.W. Lacey, who are all buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
This year the congregation heard with great pride that two young men who went out from this church became candidates for the ministry. In July, Henry W. Robards, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Robards of Greenville, South Carolina entered Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. (The young Henry Robards joined the church during the pastorate of Dr. Lacey.) Charles Taylor, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.G. Taylor, entered the Divinity School of Wake Forest College in October. Charles was especially remembered in the church for his excellent reading of the Scripture in the Christmas worship services.
During this year the Women of the Church worked feverishly to prepare for their first Christmas Bazaar which by all accounts was a tremendous success, having raised over $1,000.
The church having been without a pastor from April 1951, extended a call to the Reverend Marlin Beamer Curry and he began his ministry in February 1952.That month, the Session discussed the rotary system of elders and deacons; later the congregation approved.
In June of 1951, the first homecoming of the Oxford Presbyterian Church was held with a picnic on the grounds beside the manse. This was repeated in June of 1952 and on June 17, 1953, it was declared that the Sunday nearest to June 18 be designated as Homecoming Day for the church in the following years. “By order of the Session of our church, Home-Coming Day will be observed as an annual Church Festival. As it was on June 18th, 1823, a consultation was held at the Court House ‘on the plan and size of a Presbyterian Church in this place,’ it was decided that Home-Coming Day will be celebrated each year on or about the 18th day of June.” (Apparently, this did not happen). The Reverend William Howell, brother of Mrs. Edith H. Wheeler, preached the Home-Coming sermon in June, ‘53.
In the Spring of 1953, the Reverend Curry resigned the pastorate. In May, Dr. James Ligon Price, Jr., professor in the School of Religion, Duke University, served as temporary supply.
It was with regret on December 15, 1953 that our organist for over thirty years, Miss Lucy Webb, resigned, but stated she would remain until a replacement was found.
In July 1954, a call was extended to the Reverend Thomas Tinsley Traynham of Zuni, Virginia upon his graduation from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia to become the 34th pastor of Oxford Presbyterian Church. He accepted and was received into Granville Presbytery on July 27, 1954. During this time, the congregation had the opportunity to buy the Hunt property on Coggeshall Street as a manse for $18,000 to replace the old manse on Gilliam Street (beside the church). In her history, Mrs. Wheeler says, in the Session minutes under the date of April 19, 1887, there is mention in the report to Presbytery of a manse with value of $3,000. So far as I can ascertain, this is the old manse presently situated beside the present church structure. After the manse on Coggeshall Street was purchased, the Reverend and Mrs. Traynham moved in.
In May 1955, the congregation voted and approved air conditioning the sanctuary at a cost of $3,000. A historical note of interest is that the walnut wood top of the Baptismal Font, which stands to the right at the foot of the pulpit in the main body of the sanctuary, was a gift in 1955 from Mr. Frank C. Wildman, elder, crafted by him. The story is that the walnut wood came from a tree which Mr. Wildman cut down in Pitt County, North Carolina in 1938. However, this particular wood from which the top was made was really “dug up”, for it is an angle section from the underground stump of the tree.
In August of this year, 1955, the congregation was faced with the biggest challenge ever- that the new Consolidated College of the Synod of North Carolina be located in Oxford. Needless to say, a flurry of activity began to sweep across the church and community that would demonstrate as never before what can be accomplished when forces join together.
Plans of the Presbyterian Synod of North Carolina to erect a new $5,000,000 co-educational college in eastern North Carolina in a merger of the denomination’s educational institutions electrified to action the Granville County College Procurement organization. Elder Dermont Hedrick, chairman of the Steering Committee, a company of twenty men and women in Granville County , the Reverend Thomas T. Traynham, Elder J. Ward Boring and Trustee Francis C. Morton, plus hundreds of others supporting this effort made a determined bid for this educational sweepstake which included Methodists, Baptists, and Episcopalians. Mrs. Claude C. Wheeler was a valuable asset to the committee, furnishing much of the history about Presbyterianism as far back as 200 years in Granville County. It was the Reverend Henry Patillo who came from Virginia and planted the seed of education in Granville and Orange Counties and described as private classical schools.
However, it was not to be and it was finally located in Laurinburg, North Carolina, and named St. Andrews Presbyterian College.
In August 1956, the Reverend Traynham was elected Moderator of Granville Presbytery.
In April 1957, an announcement was made that we can truly be proud of -- a Presbyterian church would be organized at Butner. The lot for the Butner church was given by the Oxford church and on June 23, 1957, a church was officially organized with 34 adult members and 16 children. The Reverend Traynham delivered the sermon at this organizational meeting and installed the Reverend Alfred Thomas as its first pastor. It was through the untiring efforts of elders Dennis A. Hall, Jr. and Frank C. Wildman, who taught Sunday School and preached, as well as several other members who were instrumental in sponsoring and launching this church many years before and worked diligently for the establishment of the Presbyterian Church there.
On July 22, 1958, our church again hosted Granville Presbytery.
One of the most ambitious projects to date took place in May of 1958. The extensive remodeling and redecoration of the church was undertaken as follows:
*Repair and remodeling of church *Paint sanctuary
*Purchase of pew cushions *Rewire church where necessary
*Rebuilding church steps *Repair and/or replace the roof
*Replace stained glass windows
This renovation program was done at an approximate cost of $35,000.00. Special gratitude was expressed to Elder Ralph V. Boswood for his dedicated service as chairman of the Construction Program of the renovations mentioned above. Ralph showed unusual administrative ability in the expedition of his duties in this office. His untiring efforts and the smoothness of his direction in uninterrupted progress won for him a place in the hearts of his church family who had pride in the accomplishments under his leadership. While everyone in the church had a part in the expense, mention is made here of the special memorial windows:
“The Good Shepherd” - a gift of Dr. J. Morehead Emmett in memory of his mother, Mrs. Candace E. Brown and his aunt, Mrs Bettie Rogers Taylor.
“Come Unto Me” - in memory of Elvyn Leroy Parham and Ethel May Clement Parham, by their son, Mr. Thomas Clement Parham.
Dr. Emmett and Mr. Parham were devoted and consecrated members of our church during their lives. On November 8, 1959, a Thanksgiving and Consecration Service was held with Dr. Frank Bell Lewis, Dean and Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, was the minister for the special service of dedication of the memorials.
In September 1959, the Session wrote a letter to Mrs. Eben G. (Mary Frances) McSwain for her years of service in teaching Bible in the public schools, which had to be terminated because of the Supreme Court decision that this be done in our country.
On January 4, 1960, a Gorham Sterling Silver Communion service was given to the church in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Baird, Sr. by their children: Lucy Taylor, Elizabeth Gilliam (Betsy), and Elder Joseph Morton (Joe) Baird, Jr.
In April 1961, Elder Edward H. McFarland, Jr., chairman of Christian Education, proposed to the Session to employ a Director of Christian Education who would serve as secretary to the church. With Session approval, a committee was appointed to interview prospective persons for the position. Miss Mary Anna Wells from Wallace, North Carolina, a 1961 graduate of Flora Macdonald College in Red Springs, NC, accepted the position and began her work on July 1.
In 1961 - 1962, Mrs. Nathaniel V. (Emelyn Holton) Daniel served as Granville Presbyterian President. She was a faithful member of this church for many years, also serving the Presbytery, the Synod of North Carolina and the General Assembly of the PC(USA). Earlier, in 1955 - 1956, she had served as District Chairperson of the Granville Presbyterial. In 1966, she was the Women’s Birthday Interpreter for Granville Presbytery.
Again, in December 1962, the congregation was called to vote to accept as a gift, subject to existing mortgage, a house located on Belle Street, to be used as a manse, from Mr. John A. Williams, Jr. of Raleigh, formerly of Oxford. He would sell the residence of his mother, Mrs. John A. Williams, Sr., deceased, to the Oxford Presbyterian Church for $16,000. The congregation voted to accept the offer and to buy the property. The real estate, located at 203 Belle Street was valued at approximately $26,000. The remaining $10,000 was a gift from Mr. Williams for which the church was grateful.
In April 1963, the congregation voted to sell the manse property on Coggeshall Street at a price of $15,000. On January 2, 1964, the Reverend Tom Traynham and family moved in the new manse on Belle Street.
In 1963, the new Covenant Life Curriculum of the Presbyterian Church in the United States was used in adult classes in Sunday School. Also, this same year, our church voted to accept responsibility for partial support of the Reverend and Mrs. Malcom Bullock, church missionaries to Taiwan.
After months of discussion and planning, the congregation voted to acquire a new organ at a cost of $25,238.00, and Elder H. Dermont Hedrick chaired the committee for the Organ Fund. A Casavant Tracker Action Organ, which is made up of three organs, was installed in the church. The Hauptwerk or Great Organ is the one you see and hear best from the congregation, the taller pipes reaching to the ceiling. An Organ Consecration Service was held January 5, 1966, with Dr. Richard Peek, organist and choirmaster of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, giving an organ recital for church and community. A reception followed in the Fellowship Hall. He served as consultant for the congregation for the purchase of the organ.
Then in May 1967, the church and community enjoyed the first Choir Festival under the leadership of Mrs. D.D. (Trudy) Hocutt, Organist and Director. The three choirs, some sixty members in all, joined to make one of the most memorable occasions for the church family. In December, they presented a Christmas Festival, with instrumental pieces accompanying them. They were invited to the Ed McFarland home afterwards for a Christmas party. This was one of the largest choirs the church has ever had.
It was in 1967 that the church purchased the lot that adjoins the manse property on 203 Belle Street, from Mr. John A. Williams, Jr., for $2,500.00.
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For reviewing this brief history, we cannot but think that the smile of heaven has in a special manner rested on this church and we wish with heartfelt gratitude to record it ‘That hither to hath the Lord helped us.’ May the richest blessing of heaven continue to descend upon it. May it ever by kept pure both in doctrine and in practice, and may the Lord add unto it daily of such as shall be saved.